Chapter 86

Shopping With Reece

“It’s so nice to be able to get out together without me hav ing to be your babysitter. Just having this

girl’s day is cheering me up.” Reece says while grabbing a dress off the clothing rack.

“Oh, come on, Reece. You’re not fooling anyone. We both know what this is, you’re still here to keep an

eye on me, but I just like to call it the buddy system. It’s safer with two than it is with one.” | chuckle as I

shake my head, no, at the dress she’s holding up.

“I never really thought of it that way, I guess.” She ignores my opinion about the dress and throws it

over her arm to go try on.

“I’m okay with it now,” I tell her, “In the beginning I was so annoyed, but after that last note, I’m really

creeped out. I’m al ways looking over my shoulder.”

“What did the police say when you took it to them?” Reece picks out another dress, if you want to even

call it that, and throws it over her arm as well.

“Pfft, they said they would put it in my file, but my dad says that nothing will be done about it.”

She stops searching through the rack and looks at me, “So, you’re supposed to look over your shoulder

for the rest of your life?”

I shrug, “My dad hired a Private Investigator. He’s deter mined to find whoever is scaring his baby girl.”

| smirk at my friend.

“Way to go Mr. Baxter! He’s hot, he’s got brains, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes! I’m so fucking

jealous of your mom right now!”

“Yuck, Reece! That’s my dad!”

“What? Older men can still be eye candy!”

“Not my dad, gross!” | gag.

“Just think, Ella; when you and Jace have kids, they are go ing to say the same about the two of you!”

Reece shakes her head and chuckles, “Then, Aunt Reece will have to tell them the story of how their

mom thought the same way about grandma and grandpa.”

“Are you wanting to traumatize my future children?” I can’t stop laughing at this point and patrons are

beginning to stare, “That’s it, I am banning you from ever being alone with my fu ture kids!”

“Like that will stop me from telling them things. It will be

funnier talking about it in front of both you and Jace.” She grins.

“Who even says that Jace will be the one that I have kids with? We are still young; a lot can happen.”

“Oh please, have you seen the two of you? More impor tantly, have you seen the way Jace is with you?

That guy adores you and worships the ground that you walk on!” Reece states.

I roll my eyes, “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”

She shrugs, “If you don’t believe me, ask Gabe. Why do you think he’s laid off on the flirting? He’s

disappointed that he can’t hate Jace,” she snickers, “because he can see that Jace is totally in love

with you and will do anything for you. He knows that there is no competition where him and Jace are

concerned because you will always choose Jace.”

I really can’t stop the smile that appears on my face. I’m so happy that I’m not the only one that sees

how Jace treats me. I was so worried that he wouldn’t be accepted but believe it or not, Gabe even

calls Jace for his opinion on things and if he needs help with something. I haven’t brought Jace to a

game night yet because I don’t know if Deke can keep a filter on, knowing what he does about mine

and Jace’s relationship. Jace knows about what Deke had said to me that night, and even though he

isn’t happy with the guy, he’s willing to put it aside once I’m ready to introduce him to the others.

I grab a few items for myself to try on and we both head back to the dressing rooms. Curtains hang as

doors and so I have to make sure that I get the ends closed just right. Pulling my shirt off, I turn and

grab for the first top that I have hang ing there, but my hand misses it completely when I’m shoved

against the wall with a hand over my mouth. A body presses into me, so I can’t move. At first, I think it’s

Jace messing with me, but then the person whispers into my ear, and I realize that it’s a female.

“I was sent to give a message to you. He’s coming for you sooner than you think.” The woman runs her

hand along my ribcage, “He’s been dying to get a taste of you for a while now, and if I were you, I

wouldn’t fight him. He always gets what he wants.”

As scared as I am at this moment, as soon as I realize that it is a woman, I wait for the right moment, I

wait until she de livers the message, and then I throw my head back and make contact. She curses, but

she’s quick as she slams my head into the wall in front of me and then runs off.

“Ella? Are you okay over there?” Reece calls out from two stalls down.

Fuck! Yeah, I used the word fuck because there is no other

word to describe what just happened, “Call Jace!”

The curtain flies open, and Reece appears with her cell phone to her ear. I’m sitting on the floor at the

moment, hold ing my head. I can already feel a bump starting right in the center of my forehead.

“Yeah, here she is,” Reece hands me her phone.

“Jace, they were here!”

“Who was? The stalker?” He asks frantically.

“Yes… well no, but he sent someone. A woman, he sent a woman to deliver a message to me.”

“What the fuck? What’s the message?”

I can hear him slamming his car door and starting up his Jeep, “She said that he’s coming for me

sooner than I think and that he’s been dying to taste me. She says that if I know what’s good for me

than I better not fight him because he al ways gets what he wants.”

“GOD DAMN IT!!” Him beating on his steering wheel can be heard over the phone.

“I head butted her, Jace! I got her good, but then she slammed my head into the wall and ran, so I

wasn’t able to get a look at her.” I’m so proud of myself, even if I wasn’t able to ID

her. Maybe next time I can do better.

“That’s my girl. You did a good thing, baby.”

His praise makes me smile, “Are you coming for me now?”

“Do you really have to ask me that? You know I will always come for you, Ella. Just stay put, babe.”

“Okay, see you soon.” I hand Reece back her phone.

“I’m a lousy babysitter!” She looks so upset over this.

| stand up and give her a hug, “How were we supposed to know that they would come in form of a

female? We weren’t watching for a female, at least I wasn’t. Were you?”

She shakes her head.

“Well, stop beating yourself up over this then.” | give her my best smile under the circumstances, “Now,

do you mind shutting the curtain, so I stop showing off my goods?” Luckily, Thad only taken off my shirt

and so I’m still in my bra, but still.

“Oh shit, sorry!” Looking at my friend, she’s in the dress that I had originally said no to, and I must say,

it looks pretty good on her.

“Okay, I was wrong, the dress looks hot on you?” I smile at her.

“Can you say that again?” She asks seriously.

“Say what?”

“That you were wrong…”

“Oh! You’re such a bitch!” I laugh and whip her with my shirt.

“Oh, my God! Did Ella Baxter just say a swear word?” Reece gasps.

“As a matter of fact, I am becoming more fluent in cursing, no thanks to Jace.” Even though I’m still

trembling, the banter ing back and forth with Reece is helping me not think about what just happened.

“Oh, I’m sure! All that fucking that you two do, there is no way you cannot cuss.” She chuckles.

“That is very true, but it’s more than that. Daddy dearest may not like it, but Jace has opened me up to

so many new things…”

Reece holds her hand up, “I don’t want to hear how much Jace opens you up,” she laughs, “even that

is TMI for me!”

“Ugh, you’ve got such a gutter brain!” | slap her playfully and then finally put my shirt back on.

“What the hell is a gutter brain?” She asks confused but still laughing.

“It’s when your head is always in the gutter, duh!”

“Pfft, whatever. It’s so much more fun when it is in the gut ter.” She winks at me and then leaves to

change out of the dress, and I follow her, not wanting to be by myself.